


In the City of Blinding Lights

by seekrest



Series: IronDad Bingo [13]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: (but only a little bit) - Freeform, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Discussions of Capitalism, Flash Thompson Redemption, Gratuitous use of technobabble, He is trying his best, Inspired by The Devil Wears Prada, Light Angst, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Protective Peter Parker, but things never go according to plan, it is as the kids would say - a soft comic crossover, science™️ but make it fashion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23974837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest
Summary: “So I take it Stark Industries wasn’t your first choice?”Peter’s not stupid - he’s been to enough job interviews to know what the right answer is. But he’s annoyed, the arrogance emanating off of the man in front of him pissing him off as he says, “No.”Tony purses his lips together saying, “And before today, I’m assuming you’ve never set foot in this building?”“No.”“Hmm. And you clearly have no ambition or sense of purpose.”Peter frowns, “I think that’s a matter of—““No, no,” Tony says, waving his finger back and forth, “that wasn’t a question.”—A The Devil Wears Prada AU
Relationships: Peter Parker & Flash Thompson, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Johnny Storm
Series: IronDad Bingo [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1652680
Comments: 56
Kudos: 207





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gruoch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gruoch/gifts).



> To Gru, who loves these idiot babies just as much (if not more) than I do.
> 
> :)

Peter straightens his tie, fingers anxiously wrapping over it as he sighs in frustration - seeing Johnny smirk at his reflection from the mirror.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Peter says, turning his attention back to tie he was trying - and failing - to put together. 

“Like what?” Johnny asks as his smirk turns into a full-blown smile, Peter shooting him a look before wrestling with his tie again.

Peter hated ties, hated interviews - hated that it’d been nine months since graduation and he still hadn’t found a job. 

_Major in biochemical engineering they said. You’ll be a hot commodity on the job market, they said,_ Peter thinks to himself - groaning again as the windsor knot that he was trying to put together ended up looking more like a bunched up mess. 

He sees Johnny crawl out of bed, hovering behind him before pressing a kiss to his shoulder before saying, “You know, you _could_ just go without the tie.”

“Ties say ‘I’m a professional, hire me’,” Peter says as Johnny starts to leave a trail of kisses up his neck and to his cheek, the arms he’s seen handle cast iron pans with ease wrapping around his torso as he continues, “And considering this is the first interview I’ve had in weeks, I need to make a good impression.”

“You’ll kill it, P. You always do.” Johnny whispers into his ear, giving him one final kiss before he leans back - Peter smiling as he watches him walk towards the bathroom. 

“Your confidence in my ability to somehow _not_ fuck this up astounds me.”

“Gotta keep you on your toes somehow,” Johnny yells out, Peter laughing as he turns his attention back to the failed knot - sighing again before yanking it off his neck. 

He didn’t even want to go to this interview - not when it was for the exact kind of corporation that Peter had spent his entire college career venting about to anyone who would listen. The irony that the company he’d used as an example in his lit review for his thesis - critiquing their place in the industry and the far reaching effects they had on the market - ended up being of the few who actually offered him an interview wasn’t lost on him. 

Peter threw the tie down and adjusted his shirt, hearing the shower running in the background as Johnny got ready for work. It was all the push Peter needed to pull himself together, knowing that their reliance on Johnny’s paycheck wouldn’t be enough for too much longer - straightening his shoulders and staring at himself in the mirror. 

Working at Stark Industries wouldn’t be the _worst_ thing Peter could do with his life. A year, that’s all his former guidance counselor had suggested. Just one year of actual professional experience and he’d be set to move on and work for the kind of philanthropic organization that he dreamed of, the wisdom being that it’s easier to get a job when you already had one. 

If he’d been like his classmates, this wouldn’t have been a problem - instead of raking in hours and hours of internship experience at various companies throughout the city, Peter had been hard at work at any one of his three part-time jobs to help cover his room and board. 

Peter shook his head, taking a deep breath - focusing himself on the task at hand. 

He couldn’t change his circumstances anymore than he could change Johnny’s inability to remember to do the laundry. All he could do was focus - telling himself exactly what he needed to do. 

Put his best foot forward, interview for a job that he hated and if he was lucky, stick it out for one year. 

Peter had been through worse in his life. 

He could handle this.

* * *

Peter steps out of the elevator at the floor the lobby receptionist had told him to go to, looking around for someone to be waiting for him.

There wasn't, a smattering of techs that looked important or as at least acted like they were, all together in one corner - Peter taking in the rest of the room. The clear fiberglass walls behind the receptionist desk showed rows of lab equipment, Peter’s fingers flexing in anticipation.

The machinery there was top of the line, the kind of equipment that Peter would give a limb to be able to mess around with. 

But he controls himself, looking to a tech that walked in - head down as he tapped a message on his phone, Peter taking his entrance as a sign that he was supposed to meet him. 

“Hi, I’m here for an interview Eugene Thomps--”

“Stop.” Peter pauses, the man looking him up and down with an amused expression on his face, “Why are you talking to me?” 

Peter raised an eyebrow, glancing down at his phone before looking back to the man, clearly seeing the name tag that spelled out ‘Eugene Thompson’. “Is this the right floor? I’m supposed to be here for an interview?”

The man stares at him blankly before sighing, rolling his eyes as he says, “Don’t tell me _you’re_ Peter Parker.”

“Yes?” Peter says, the man sighing again as he stands, waving him forward. 

“Well, human resources certainly has a sense of humor. Name’s Flash. Call me Eugene again and you’ll regret it.” Flash frowns. “Don’t take it personally but,” he gestures vaguely towards Peter, “working at SI requires a certain _je ne sais quoi_.” 

“I was in the top 5% of my graduating class at Columbia,” Peter says, almost offended at the utter disdain in Flash’s voice, “I published a paper in--”

“Yeah, yeah I know,” he says dismissively, waving his hand in Peter’s face, “We’ve all got patents and grants and are descended from greatness. What _I’m_ saying is that working at SI requires a little jazz, a little flavor. Something that you,” he looks at him up and down again, “are sorely lacking.”

“Well, I’m a hard worker and would be happy to be considered.” Peter offers, gritting his teeth and swallowing his pride as Flash just stared at him in mild amusement. 

“Mr. Stark has fired the last two people I’ve interviewed in the past three weeks alone. I need to find someone who can survive here, you understand?”

Peter goes to say something further only to be cut off by a loud ringing, completely baffled at the sound - trying to remember the last time someone his age ever had their phone on anything but silent. 

But the sound is enough to immediately shift Flash’s demeanor, the cocky facade shifting away into something almost resembling fear as he scrambles for the phone in his pocket - eyes widening.

“No. No. No. _No._ ”

“What’s wrong?” Peter goes to ask, Flash looking around as if he hadn’t said a word - yelling out into the hallway. 

“He’s on his way. Everyone _pull it together_.”

It’s as if Flash had set off a bomb, the lab around him completely devolving into chaos. Peter catches a glimpse of a stout, grey-haired man coming straight towards him - eyeing Peter before turning to Flash, asking, “I thought he wasn’t supposed to be here till nine?”

“When does Mr. Stark ever follow a schedule?” Flash says, his voice wavering with a panic that Peter hadn’t thought possible from someone so snarky. 

“Who’s this?” The grey-haired man points towards Peter, going to say something before Flash cuts him off and says, “I can’t even deal with it right now.”

He turns to Peter. “Go, sit somewhere. Get out of the way.” 

Peter looks on dumbfounded, all the arrogance completely gone from Flash as he starts yelling out orders to some of the lab techs - whipping around to try and figure out what could be causing everyone to throw themselves into a panic. 

Just then the elevators opened, Peter feeling as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the room as another man walked in - a sleek black suit and sunglasses still on his face even though they were inside. 

Peter immediately recognized him - it was impossible not to, Tony Stark waltzing out of the elevator looking as if he’d stepped off a runway. 

Flash rushes past Peter, some kind of tablet in hand as he says, “Mr. Stark, it’s so good to--”

“I don’t understand why it’s so difficult to keep an appointment,” he cuts Flash off, Peter wondering if there was something that he’d missed. 

But whatever it was Flash seems to catch on, immediately looking apologetic as he stammers, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Stark, I was sure I had confirmed--”

“Details of your incompetence do not interest me,” he replies, putting a hand up in the same way Flash had done to Peter - Peter stifling back a laugh as they walk past him. 

“Tell Christine I am _not_ approving the cover story. If I wanted to be interviewed by the Bugle, I would’ve contacted Jameson myself. RSVP yes to the gala for Oscorp and for the car to pick me up at 9 and then to wait for me till I leave at 9:45. Tell the caterer for the thirtieth time, no I do not want the albacore or the bigeye that I want the yellowfin tuna. It should not be this difficult to listen to my one, simple request.” Peter watches in amazement as Flash furiously types on the tablet in his hand - Tony talking as if he expected him to catch it all instantaneously. 

“Call my ex-wife Pepper and remind her that parent-teacher conferences are this Tuesday. Then call my husband and tell him to meet me for dinner at that place I went with Reed,” Tony says flippantly, Peter wishing now that he’d paid nearly as much attention to the gossip surrounding Tony Stark as Johnny seemed to.

Peter follows quietly behind them down the hallway, presumably to Tony Stark’s office as the man continues “Tell Victor that I saw the email that he sent me about the thermonuclear fusion reactor and tell him for the last time that I am not interested in dangerous devices that could level New York in a matter of minutes. Who is that?”

Tony asks the question so casually that Peter does a double take when he realizes that he’s referring to him, Flash not even sparing him a glance as he says, “Nobody. Human resources sent him up about the assistant job and I was pre- interviewing him for you, but—“

“I’ll do it,” Tony says as he adjusts his sunglasses, “the last two you sent me were total disappointments. Send him in.”

Flash looks like a gaping fish for a moment before immediately snapping his mouth shut, turning towards Peter with a hurried expression on his face.

“He wants to see you. Come on,” Flash waves to Peter frantically, Peter immediately walking forward and into the elegantly decorated office - floor to ceiling windows showcasing a view of the city that takes Peter’s breath away. 

Peter catches his bearings and looks to Tony Stark, the man now sitting at his desk - staring at him impassively before saying, “Who are you?”

Peter smiles, extending out a hand towards him as he says, “My name’s Peter Parker. I recently graduated from—“

“And what are you doing here?” Tony asks, ignoring Peter’s hands until Peter awkwardly brings it down, shoving it in his pocket.

“I think I could do a good job as your assistant… I was a biochemical engineering major and—“

“As was everyone here,” Tony interrupts, “I asked you what _you_ are doing here?”

Later Peter would wonder what had spawned his outburst - if it was his pent up frustration at not being able to find a job, the attitude he’d gotten from Flash or a combination of both.

As it was, Peter felt a flare of anger rush through him at how completely dismissive he as - a reminder once again of why Peter hated Stark Industries and everything that Tony Stark stood for as he straightens his shoulders.

“I’ve been interviewing at tech companies for almost a year. I’ve sent emails and called up pretty much every reference that I could think of before I finally got a call from HR here. It was either this or Starbucks.”

Tony raises an eyebrow at that, Peter watching as the man takes off his sunglasses - eyeing him up and down just as Flash had before.

“So I take it Stark Industries wasn’t your first choice?”

Peter’s not stupid - he’s been to enough job interviews to know what the right answer is. But he’s annoyed, the arrogance emanating off of the man in front of him pissing him off as he says, “No.”

Tony purses his lips together saying, “And before today, I’m assuming you’ve never set foot in this building?”

“No.”

“Hmm. And you clearly have no ambition or sense of purpose.”

Peter frowns, “I think that’s a matter of—“

“No, no,” Tony says, waving his finger back and forth, “that wasn’t a question.”

Peter balls his hands into fists, forcing himself to relax as he says, “I was a teaching assistant for Dr. Otto Octavius for four years. I published two journal articles in PLoS Medicine and Nature Methods before I graduated. I led a team of—

“That’s all.”

Peter paused, incredulous as Tony looks away from him, motioning for Flash to come in.

“Okay look you’re right, I don’t fit in here. My parents aren’t famous and I don’t give a damn about raising money to line some stakeholder’s pockets. But I’m smart, I learn fast and I will work very hard. And—“

Peter’s cut off once again by another voice, the grey-haired man from before walking in past him as he says, “I got the call from Xavier about the alloy we were looking for. He’s willing to let us have some so long as we play nice with our Pico system.”

Tony stares at Peter impassively, before turning to the man beside him, Peter fuming before he mutters, “Thank you for your time.”

He turns out of the office without saying a word before hearing, “Who _is_ that, boss?”

Peter doesn’t catch what Tony has to say, walking with purpose out of the office doors and towards the elevators that will take him the hell away from there.

* * *

Peter’s still fuming as he rides the elevator down in silence, closing his eyes as he sighs.

He’d said the truth - it was either this or Starbucks, wondering now how he was going to explain this to Johnny when he got home. 

Knowing Johnny, he’d just kiss him on the forehead and mouth off some pithy remark - far too casual and easygoing for the precarious financial situation they were in. But it was something that he loved about him, letting his shoulders sag as the elevator dings and he opens his eyes - walking towards the lobby.

 _So much for not fucking this up,_ Peter thinks to himself - loosening his tie as he makes his way towards the double doors.

“Parker!”

Peter freezes, turning around to see Flash walking out of a separate elevator.

Peter raises an eyebrow, wondering he could possibly want with him only for Flash to wave his hand up, gesturing for him to follow back upstairs.

Peter blinked a few times in shock, watching as Flash turns around towards the elevators.

Flash glances over his shoulder, now looking more annoyed as he waves once again and says, “Come on, Parker. Mr. Stark doesn’t have all day.”

Peter feels his jaw drop, his wits coming back to him as he quickly closes it - moving as fast as he can to follow after Flash.

Once they’re both in the elevator, Peter turns to him and asks, “He wants to hire _me_? Why?”

“Hell if I know Parker but listen up,” Flash says, turning to Peter with a grim expression on his face. 

“I don’t know what your deal is or what Mr. Stark sees in you but this isn’t a game. A million guys would kill for this job.”

Peter wants to laugh except for the serious look on his face - leaning backwards as Flash stares him down.

“Don’t fuck it up.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Whoa whoa back it up, _you_ got a job at Stark Industries?” Michelle asks incredulously, Peter groaning as he puts his head in his hands - Johnny and Ned laughing beside him.

“MJ—“

“You, Peter ‘eat the rich’ Parker are officially a sellout,” Michelle says with a smirk, Peter lifting his head out of his hands as he sends her a withering look.

“You know, I’m not happy about it either but it was either this—“

“Or Starbucks,” all three of them say, Peter feeling even more miserable until Johnny laughs, rubbing his back soothingly as he says, “Come on P, you gotta admit it’s a little ironic.”

“More than ironic,” Michelle counters, Peter looking to her with a pleading expression, “sixteen year old Peter would murder you in the street if he could see you now.”

He rolls his eyes, shaking his head as he says, “Sixteen year old me was also an idealistic dumbass.”

Michelle genuinely smiles at that, Ned leaning forward as he says, “Good to know some things never change.”

“ _Ouch,_ ” Peter says with a scoff, Johnny kissing his cheek before saying, “Come on guys, be nice.”

“We _are_ being nice, Storm,” Michelle says as she grabs her drink, “You didn’t have to hear his rants about corporate bailouts and the ethical responsibility of scientific researchers for years.”

Johnny snickers at that, Peter’s ears reddening as he looks at Michelle and Ned - his oldest friends - and knows that despite how miserable he feels, neither of them are wrong.

“It’s true,” Peter finally concedes, sighing as he takes a long swig of his drink, “I’ve finally lived long to see myself become the villain.”

The table laughs at that, Ned nudging his elbow before saying, “Hey, at least this way you know _exactly_ what to say to get out of a criminal case if the FTC comes after you.”

“Ha ha,” Peter replies sarcastically, Johnny laughing as he says, “Peter wasn’t _that_ bad right?”

“You sweet and loveable himbo,” Ned says with a smile, “I forget you guys have only been dating a year.”

“Feels like forever,” Michelle counters, Peter giving her a look - Johnny being the first serious relationship he’d had since _their_ relationship had ended their first year of college. But Michelle just smiles, a reminder to Peter that they were friends long before they had ever started dating as she says, “But that’s a good thing. Someone’s gotta put up with Peter’s bullshit.”

“Wow. I love you guys _so_ much. Super encouraging,” Peter deadpans when he sees his friends’ faces light up.

“You know we’re just kidding, Pete,” Ned says, sharing a side glance with Michelle, “mostly.”

“Yeah, I know unemployment sucks,” Michelle offers, Peter shooting them both a grateful smile as he nods.

“Yeah I do. Still, you’re not _wrong_ ,” he says with a grimace, “I cant believe that of all the places that finally gave me an interview, it’s _Stark Industries._ ”

“Well we all gotta start somewhere,” Ned says, “Not like I enjoy being a glorified code robot at Connors Cosmetics.”

“And while law school is great in theory,” Michelle says with a smirk, “Civ Pro makes me wanna claw my eyes out.”

“Well _I_ have my dream job.” Johnny smiles, the whole table looking at him in disbelief.

“A line cook at Studebaker’s?” Ned asks incredulously, Peter looking to his boyfriend in surprise only to see the smirk on his face.

“Yeah you’re right, our lives suck.”

The whole table laughs, Peter feeling a little better about himself as he lifts up his drink and says, “To following our dreams.”

“ _To_ _paying rent_ ,” Michelle says, Ned and Johnny laughing as they all clink their drinks together.

* * *

A bottle of wine, two appetizers and an hour and a half later, they all split ways - Johnny and Peter walking hand in hand towards the subway stop that’ll take them home.

“Was it really that bad, P?” He asks, rubbing his thumb against the back of his palm as Peter sighs.

“It’s just antithetical to everything, literally _everything_ that I’ve ever stood for, J. You wouldn’t believe how snobby all of them were. Acting like they owned the world and for what?” Peter says, raising his free hand in frustration.

“They even _dressed_ like they all came from money,” he sighs again, Peter catching Johnny’s smirk out of the corner of his eye. 

“You’re going to be answering phones and getting coffee. You need a black tie tuxedo for that?” 

Peter frowns, remembering the ridiculously tailored suit Flash was wearing as he says, “I think I might.”

“Well, I think you look great all the time,” Johnny says, tugging on Peter’s hand as he grins.

“You are so full of it,” Peter bounces back, only to smile when Johnny pulls him and kisses him. 

“Come on. Let’s go home,” he says teasingly, “I can think of something you can do without _any_ clothes on.”

“Oh really?” Peter jokes, letting Johnny lead him towards the subway stop - trying not to think about his first official day at work but rather the night he’ll have with his boyfriend.

* * *

Peter almost regrets their late night when his phone goes off the next morning, Johnny groaning and mumbling into his pillow.

Peter reaches for his phone, wiping the sleep from his eye as he says, “Hello?”

“Parker, where the hell are you?”

Peter frowns, looking at the time stamp on the phone before bringing it back to his ear, “It’s 6:30.”

“Yeah, and you were supposed to have been at the office fifteen minutes ago.”

“I was? I didn’t—“ Peter goes to say, wondering if he was going to be fired before he’d even had the chance to begin when Flash cuts him off. 

“Whatever, I don’t need your excuses. I need you here. Mr. Stark decided to move forward with Xavier’s alloy and needs all hands on deck. You need to come into the office right now. Pick up his coffee order on the way. Write this down.”

Peter sighs, rubbing a hand across his face and throwing himself out of bed - already feeling like he was making the biggest mistake of his life.

_I need to pay rent. I need to pay rent. I need to pay rent._

“Hit me.”

* * *

“Where the hell have you been?” Flash says hurriedly, Peter barely getting the chance to walk through the elevator as Flash waves him towards the office, “This is a very difficult job that you’re completely wrong for and if you mess up, _my_ head is on the chopping block.” 

He snatches the coffee that Peter had in his hand and sighs, turning back towards him as Peter frowns. 

“I’m just supposed to answer phones right?” Peter asks, remembering Johnny’s suggestion the night before. Yet that seems to be exactly the _wrong_ way to look at it, Flash looking even more annoyed as he said, “No, it’s not just phones. Mr. Stark is a very important, busy man and every single call that he receives is just as important.”

Peter barely holds back an eyeroll, Flash motioning towards the desk across from him. 

“You are chained to this desk. _Nothing_ should prevent you from leaving it.”

“What if the building’s on fire or nuclear war?” Peter deadpans, inwardly wincing at his sarcasm as Flash’s frown somehow grows even deeper.

“Then say a prayer and prepare to meet your end. I don’t give a fuck what you think is important, Mr. Stark’s needs trump them all.”

 _Of course they do_ , Peter thinks - wisely keeping that tidbit to himself as the phone rings. Flash walks over to it, picking it up with a flourish that looked more like it should’ve come from a fashion assistant than a tech one as he says, “Tony Stark’s office. No, he’s not available. I’ll tell him you called.”

Flash writes down something on a sticky note then hangs up the phone, glancing over to Peter. 

“Remember, you and I have totally different jobs. You run errands, you get coffee.” He stands up a little straighter, Peter raising an eyebrow as Flash continues, “ _I_ am in charge of his schedule, his expenses, his appointments and most importantly, I get to go with him to the CES conference in the fall.” 

Peter’s aware of the conference, remembering when he had run a student protest for when one of Stark’s competitors Oscorp had discussed the possibility about animal testing using radioactive isotopes during his junior year of college.

But if Flash sees Peter’s disgust, he ignores it saying, “It’s absolutely the place to be. Doom Incorporated, Oscorp, Killian Enterprises, those idiots at the Baxter Building… they don’t even scratch the _surface_ of who is there. Plus,” Flash says with a wink that makes Peter want to vomit in his mouth, “it’s in Las Vegas.”

Peter doesn’t even dignify that with a response, Flash clearly not needing one as he sighs before shaking his head, turning back to Peter.

“Right, you stay here while I run down to the innovation lab for details on the new ARC reactor 3000.” 

“The what?” Peter asks, blanking for a moment until Flash rolls his eyes. 

“Advanced Repulsor Combustion reactor system? Literally the thing that put Stark Industries on the map?” Flash asks, putting a hand up, “God, I can’t believe he hired you. Mr. Stark is a genius but…” 

Flash trails off, eyeing Peter up and down again in a way that just makes Peter bawl his fists together - feeling more childish than he has in years until Flash says, “Whatever, I gotta go. Do. Not. Leave.” 

He walks out the door, leaving Peter fuming and regretting the fact that he took this job - rent payment be damned - only for the phone to ring, a shot of fear running through him. 

“Mr. Stark’s office?” Peter says tentatively, only to wince when he hears the voice on the other line, “Yes. Tony Stark’s office. That’s what I meant.” 

He glances around for a pen, when the voice on the other line begins to speak in an accent so thick it’s unintelligible, Peter barely catching on to the last few words he said.

“Wait, sorry hold on. You’re from Vanko what? Can you spell--”

The man on the other line starts yelling at him in something that Peter’s sure is just swear words in what he thinks is Russian then hangs up, Peter glancing around before putting the phone down.

 _One phone call down. A year’s worth to go._

* * *

Peter’s still trying to get a handle on filtering through the numerous, meticulously organized databases on the StarkComputer he’s at when the grey haired man who’d been in the office that first day shows up, StarkPad in hand as he says, “Here, little manual to help you out with the big guy.”

“Manual?” Peter asks, looking down at the tablet before taking it, the man nodding as he says, “Just a little tip. Pretend like you actually want to be here or Stark’ll think twice about it.”

“Mr. Stark hired me,” Peter says with a smirk, “He knows that I do.”

“ _Do_ you?” The man says, Peter blinking a few times in confusion before hearing another voice calling out from the office. 

“Thompson.” 

Peter looks to the man before looking at Flash’s empty desk, only for the man to nod his head towards the office.

“He means you. Go.” 

Peter gets up from his desk, grabbing the StarkPad that had been given to him only moments before - walking into the room to see Tony Stark waving around holograms, sighing as he braces his chin in his hand. 

“This is too much. I asked for simple schematics that can be used for simple people.” 

“This was the best that we could do, boss,” the man from the other room says, walking in behind Peter till he’s right beside him, “it’s difficult to extrapolate from--”

“Yeah, yeah I know,” he says with a handwave, turning around to see Peter as he says, “Thompson, there you are.”

“It’s Parker actually. Peter Parker,” Peter replies, Tony leveling him with a glare that almost makes him want to take a step back. 

He eyes him up and down before turning back to the man beside him and saying, “Happy, where are we with Xavier’s alloy?”

“It’s being processed as we speak,” the man - _Happy_ , Peter notes - says, Tony nodding in affirmation.

“Good, we’ll need it if we’re gonna want this conductor to go live by next week.” Tony turns back to Peter, sending him another withering look that could rival one from Michelle as he says, “Make sure I get the Mark 52 delivered by 8am tomorrow. Remind Veronica that I want her at the Skyline with Barton’s B.I.R.D.S. And tell Sam that I’ll take Buchanan if Rogers isn’t available. Did Romanova confirm?”

Peter hadn’t expected the litany of questions and even for his quick as he usually was, felt a little lost, stuttering a bit as he asks, “Romana—”

“Get her on the phone!” Tony says dismissively, waving him away. Peter sees the pointed look on Happy’s face before turning back towards the desk.

Peter’s barely out of the office before he hears Tony call out, “Do you have Romanova?”

Peter feels panicked, in a way that rationally he knows he shouldn’t be considering how fucked up this whole company was - hating that he was working here still - but is suddenly reminded that no, he _cannot_ screw this up. Not if he and Johnny are ever going to have a decent shot of making it in their tiny, rat-infested apartment.

He rushes to the desk, hearing Tony sigh only for Flash to rush in - glancing towards Peter as Tony yells out again, “Is it really so difficult to get Romanova?”

Flash walks straight over this desk, pressing a few buttons before putting the phone to his ear, “I have Tony Stark calling.” He nods, putting a hand to the earpiece and calling out, “I have Natalia.”

He seems to wait until Tony has answered before rushing back over to Peter’s desk.

“What happened? What the hell did you do?”

“He called me in by your name, told him that I’m Peter--”  
  
“You _never_ interrupt Mr. Stark when he’s talking to you,” Flash interjects ironically, Peter blinking at him in surprise and disgust only for Flash to snap his fingers, “And? What else?”

“He said something about Mark? I think he wanted Buchanan something but I don’t--”

Flash rolls his eyes again, sighing obnoxiously as he says, “You’re absolutely ridiculous. It’s fine, I’ll handle it. What else?”

“I remember he did say something about birds.”

“Birds? What kind of birds? To eat? To research? Decoration?”

“I don’t… know?” Peter asks with some uncertainty, Flash pinching the bridge of his nose before saying, “You’re impossible you know that. The bane of my existence.”

“Yeah it’s a real pleasure for me too,” Peter counters, Flash bringing his hand down and narrowing his eyes before he snaps his fingers again.

“He was probably talking about Barton’s B.I.R.D.S, some device that’s supposed to help with electromagnetic location. I’ll deal with everything you missed, you go down to the Skyline.”

“Wait what? _Me_? Why?” Peter asks, Flash seemingly looking more annoyed by the second as he says, “I’m sorry, do you have a prior commitment? Some terrible suit jacket convention?”

Flash scoffs, Peter grinding his teeth as he said, “Go to the skyline, contact Veronica and let her know that you’ll be the one picking up the B.I.R.D.S.”

Peter barely gets the chance to respond before Flash is snapping his fingers again - Peter holding on to every single ounce of his self-control not to snap Flash’s fingers in half - as he says, “What are you waiting for? Go!”

Peter sighs, moving from the desk that he’d been told not even five minutes before never to leave - almost glad for the errand that he had no idea what he was looking for or what the hell the “birds” he was going to be handling even were. 

_If this is what the next year is gonna be like,_ Peter thinks, _maybe I should’ve stuck with Starbucks after all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The CES conference is real but by all accounts is filled with nice, innovative tech people. (And also happens in the spring)
> 
> :)


End file.
